The Voice Judges Talk Up Season 4

Billboard has highlights from a recent press conference for season four of The Voice in which the old judges (Blake Shelton, Adam Levine) and the new judges (Usher, Shakira) talked about their roles on the program. Usher and Shakira are replacing the departing Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green. Shelton said that the dynamic has “definitely changed” and the new additions have added more competitiveness to the program. The Voice returns March 25.

Shelton said: “Cee Lo was always so laid back. He’s kind of been the quiet killer in this thing. We replace Cee Lo with somebody that’s just that more aggressive and now you’ve got four that are killers up here.“

Levine added: “Now you have a pregnant, hormonal Colombian. She’s ready to bust some heads. She ain’t messing around!“

Shakira agreed that she will be competitive. She said: “Once we are in the process of trying to get a contestant recruited for our team, there’s a lot of adrenaline and there’s a lot of tension. When I’m giving directions to my contestants, I’m particularly focused on details.“

Usher called Shakira a mix of “comic relief, super f-cking serious, and gangster,” explaining that “she’s so nice now but she really pulls out that switchblade in the battle.”

He also talked about his own coaching style. He said: “My style is more military than anything because I’m all about the preparation. My style is to make them understand the seriousness of the craft and that they have the very best opportunity to be the greatest — or the worst — depending on how you take it.“

Levine said that Shakira likes to play up the fact she’s female a lot (“That’s one thing we can’t compete with really so she’s smart”) and Usher reminds the other coaches of his success with Justin Bieber. Levine added: “As much as I hate to say this about another coach in the beginning, Usher has done what this show has yet to do – launch a superstar and that’s our goal. That’s something we want to do as an institution.“

After the event was over, Shelton agreed with Levine and Shakira said to Usher: “We all want to be like you when we grow up.“